Labor - they just don't get it

Tell your friends about The Nationals

There's a lot going on around The Nationals and the easiest way to stay in touch is by registering your email address. We send weekly roundups of all our activity as well as special briefings for important events and policy announcements.

There is a clear choice between The Nationals and metro-centric Labor - you don't have to look any further than their latest comments on our native vegetation plans.

As we consult with farmers to deliver a new biodiversity bill, the Labor MP who speaks in favour of the existing draconian native veg act is an MP who resides in the inner Sydney suburb of Newtown - the Greens beat her at the last election and she has an Upper House spot. She now claims to have done her own consultation on the new act - choosing to meet with environmental groups in Sydney.

This act does not apply to Sydney. It begs to question, where is the so-called Country Labor on native vegetation? This is just another example of Labor choosing metropolitan Sydney over their regional counterparts. We want to deliver a new act that is farmer friendly and still delivers important environmental outcomes. Farmers are some of the best custodians of the land we have. It is only in Labor's interest to continue to ignore that fact and instead make farmers feel like criminals on their own land.

Country Labor appears every election cycle, spreading smear and fear. They are the first to point to anything we haven't done well. The Nationals should be honest about our successes, and even more so about things we could do better. Our communities deserve that. But heading into a federal campaign later this year, we need to remember that the Country Labor cardboard cut-outs will once again stand up across our communities but they mean absolutely nothing to the policy settings of the Labor party.

Labor has always sacrificed farmers to win seats from the Greens in inner city suburbs and clearly when it comes to these reforms they are planning to do it again.

Register for updates

There's a lot going on around The Nationals and the easiest way to stay in touch is by registering your email address. We send weekly roundups of all our activity as well as special briefings for important events and policy announcements.